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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27605165">Head Above Water</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/meganmylolly/pseuds/meganmylolly'>meganmylolly</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Karen Walker - Fandom, Megan Mullally, Will &amp; Grace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety, Divorce, Masturbation in Shower, Other, Shameless Smut, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:34:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,003</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27605165</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/meganmylolly/pseuds/meganmylolly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on season 5 episode 6, Boardroom and a Parked Place.</p><p>Karen is struggling with her divorce, but is unwilling to admit to anyone how bad it’s gotten for her. Frustrations are running high, and she’s desperate to find a way to deal with it all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Karen Walker/Other(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Head Above Water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Karen stripped out of her blouse, skirt and underwear and stepped out of the pile of clothes around her feet. With a sigh, she leaned on the bathroom sink, staring at her own naked reflection in the mirror hanging above it. She locked eyes with herself before letting her gaze drop down to her collarbones, touching her fingers to them absentmindedly, lost in thought.</p><p>She was an extremely proud woman. She realised that she was being incredibly stubborn. She’d been putting on a brave face for quite some time, but the truth was… she was absolutely exhausted. She hadn’t been able to catch a break in what felt like the longest time. Her husband going to jail, asking her to sleep with other people, then being released without any notice hadn’t been the easiest things to bounce back from. The guilt of actually going through with the affair he’d requested her to have had been weighing her down ever since Stan had come back. Finding out he’d been seeing someone on the side all along had hit her hard enough to force the air out of her lungs, and even now she never seemed to able to breathe in quite deeply enough. Add to that the facts that she’d had to leave her home, that her husband had frozen her assets, and that she had to live in her limo with Rosie... </p><p>She gave another heavy sigh, trying to break through the feeling that someone had tightened a belt around her chest. She was tired, worn down by recent events and a lack of sleep, but more than anything, she felt humiliated. By what Stan had put her through, of course, but if she was being honest, that wasn’t the thing that was troubling her most.<br/>
She loved Jack and Grace for offering her a place to stay. She loved them even more for wanting to stay with her in the limo when she refused to give into their offer. She appreciated what they were trying to do, but at the same time, she wished more than anything that they had never seen her in a state this pitiful. This was also why she hadn’t really had any meaningful talks to anyone about her struggles to cope. The last thing she needed  was to appear weak, or vulnerable. But when those two had found her sleeping in her limo, her entire cheerful and optimistic facade had been broken in a matter of seconds. This was a problem, because her need to appear strong in front of her friends had been her main crutch for getting her through these tough times. Considering for a minute the reasons behind her behaviour the past few days, she had to admit to herself that she was probably rejecting her friends’ help in order to retrieve what she’d lost to their prying eyes.</p><p>The irony of refusing support in order to gain support wasn’t lost on her.</p><p>Realising she’d been standing naked in Grace’s bathroom for quite a while now, staring at her reflection with unfocused eyes, she snapped out of her thoughts. She shook her head, as if trying to expel the feelings of anxiety that had begun to creep up on her. Anxiety she had absolutely no outlet for.<br/>
She turned around, turned on the shower and got into the bathtub. Her entire body had tensed up, and she desperately needed to feel the hot water relax her muscles. That, and she felt disgusting from spending her nights in a car in her everyday clothes. </p><p>She took the detachable showerhead and sat down in the tub, knowing she’d be a while and definitely not being in the mood to stand. She gratefully welcomed the warmth spreading over her skin as she wet her hair, her arms, her legs.<br/>
She reached up and grabbed Grace’s shampoo from the rack. She looked at the label, contemplating whether or not she should keep using this generic brand. At home she used only the most expensive and high quality shampoos and conditioners, and she certainly didn’t want to add frizzy hair to her list of worries, but she supposed beggars can’t be choosers. Quickly, she started to lather her hair, trying not to linger on the fact that she’d just used the word ‘beggar’ to describe herself. </p><p>Nearly fifteen minutes later, she had finished washing herself. She felt slightly better now that she was clean, but her mind had been racing the entire time and her muscles still ached. Karen leaned back in the tub, unwilling to get out and touch her bare feet to the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. Her thoughts churning once more, she didn’t notice that her fingers were now toying with the showerhead’s settings. This, until a narrow but strong, pulsating stream of water hit her square in the chest and brought her right back to the present. She’d discovered this setting yesterday, and although she’d quipped to Will about how smooth-talking the showerhead was, she’d been in too much of a rush to actually test how true this statement was.</p><p>She looked at it for a while, unsure if this was really the moment or the place for such things, but she figured the pent up frustration was going to get out one way or another, and at least this way had some definite perks to it. Slowly, she lowered the showerhead, watching the water ricochet off of her naked abdomen. After having spread her legs, she lowered it between them, tilting it slightly upwards. When a pulse of water hit her directly on her clit, she gave a startled gasp and quickly pulled the showerhead back to her chest.<br/>
Wew…<br/>
The power with which the water had hit her had resonated through her entire body, and though it hadn’t been entirely unpleasant, she doubted it was the most effective way to get to where she wanted to go. But now that she’d had a taste, she knew this was exactly what she needed right now.</p><p>She went through all the different settings, hoping for one that was slightly less aggressive and eventually finding a softer, non-pulsating spray. The showerhead once more traveled to that spot between her legs and at first, she hardly felt a thing. She started playing around, aiming the water up and down her slit, feeling it fill her up before focussing on her clit again. Then, at an infuriatingly slow pace, she started to feel her orgasm build up. A heat that began in the pit of her stomach was now weakly spreading through her thighs, and she knew she was slowly edging closer and closer. Just before she was about to come, she lay the showerhead down on her stomach, not wanting to just yet. After a little while, the throbbing, longing sensation between her legs practically begging her too, she resumed her teasing, with no intention of finishing herself off. She knew she needed a big finale, and this setting wasn’t going to do it for her. She had to kick it up a notch.</p><p>Waiting a moment until she wasn’t anywhere near her orgasm, the heat between her legs having subsided a bit, she pointed the showerhead down. She changed the setting, settling on a stronger, narrow, non-pulsating beam of water. She held her breath and slowly aimed higher, and when the water hit her in the right spot she bit her lower lip, barely able to contain a moan as she exhaled.</p><p>She draped her leg over the side of the bathtub, her body sliding down a little as she did so. The constant forceful pressure against her clit was driving her insane and she could no longer muster the strength to look down at her own body. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, her eyebrows furrowing as she concentrated on the amazing sensation between her legs. The buildup was much quicker now, and her entire body had started to tingle. Her breathing had become so shallow, she was practically panting. Involuntarily, she tilted her pelvis up, and the water hit her from a better angle, her hips bucking in response. Before she could prepare herself, she came crashing over the edge, hard. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped, silently this time, arching her back. She was so sensitive that she couldn’t bare to let the water prolong her orgasm. She slammed her legs shut, her body squirming as she rode it out. It was over very quickly, too quickly, and only left her craving more.</p><p>Barely giving herself time to recover, she settled back into her previous position and set the showerhead to pulsating, once again aiming it directly on her clit. This time, though, she didn’t recoil from the sheer force of it, but she stood her ground as the pressure between her legs approached pain before slowly morphing back into pleasure. Lightheaded, she managed to look down again, the peripheries of her sight darkened, and saw that her thighs had begun quivering heavily. She gripped her knee, her nails practically embedded in her skin as the pulsations roughly pushed her towards her second orgasm. </p><p>Suddenly, she heard voices coming from the living room. It didn’t break the wonderful spell she was under, but it did cause her to want to wait with her release. She couldn’t make out who they belonged to or what they were saying over the sound of the water and her own heavy breathing. A moment later, however, she could distinctly distinguish Grace’s voice. To her own surprise, knowing she was there on the other side of the door turned her on even more, though it was unclear whether it was the excitement of possibly getting caught being screwed by water, or if it was Grace’s voice specifically that was doing the trick. Anyway, there was no time to figure that out right now, as she couldn’t fight it any longer.</p><p>When she came again, she could simply not keep it in, and a high, almost whiny squeal escaped her. Quickly and without looking, she changed the setting back to the one she’d used just before, keeping the showerhead in place. Another loud whimper followed as her orgasm stretched out, the pure bliss driving her to drag nails back up, leaving red scratch marks on her otherwise unblemished knee and thigh. Her toes curling, she finally relinquished the pressure on her clit and directed the water away from her.<br/>
After placing her leg back into the tub, she immediately slumped down, her limp body filled with a sense of euphoria. Lying there for a moment longer, she lazily doused herself with water to keep herself warm. The muscle tension had gone completely, and she actually felt serene, her mind blank. Even hearing Grace ask if it was Will who was using the shower didn’t make her jump, but she did decide to pull herself together.</p><p>When she’d gotten out of the shower, getting dressed at a record time, she caught a glimpse of herself in the fogged up mirror and she couldn’t help but crack a big smile. The imaginary belt around her chest also seemed to have been removed, and she breathed in deeply and satisfyingly for the first time in months.<br/>
She’d be alright. She knew that. No problem that had been thrown at her was insurmountable, and she was going to fix each and every one of them. The housing situation was probably the easiest one. She decided she was going to swallow her pride and accept Grace’s proposal to come stay with her here. If she simply took a shower every day, it couldn’t possibly be so bad.</p><p>Walking out of the bathroom soon after and seeing Jack and Grace staring at her with quizzical looks, she smiled brightly.</p><p>“Oh. Hi, honey. Listen, you gotta talk to that showerhead. He got a little fresh. I had to put him in his place.” Smiling naughtily, she whispered, “Well... my place.”</p>
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